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Supreme Court Justice Scalia to Deliver Hugo Black Lecture

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia will be the featured speaker at the annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression, which will be held 8 p.m., March 8, in Memorial Chapel.

Tickets to the lecture in the chapel were scooped up almost immediately, as were tickets for the simulcast viewing at the Center for Film Studies. The lecture will also be simulcast in CFA Hall, PAC 001 and PAC 002 where tickets are not needed and seats are available.

Justice Scalia’s speech will be titled “The Originalist Approach to the First Amendment.”

In addition to the speech, Justice Scalia will be meeting with a small group of students, have lunch with faculty, attend a performance of Professor of Music Neely Bruce’s “Bill of Rights,” share dinner with President Roth, members of the faculty and invited guests, and do a book signing.

The annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression is named in honor of U. S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. The series is designed to bring to the Wesleyan campus distinguished public figures and scholars with experience and expertise in matters related to the First Amendment and freedom of expression.

This lecture, which has been endowed by Leonard S. Halpert ’44 since 1991, is offered annually. Hugo Black Lecture speakers have included Lawrence Tribe, Jack Balkin, Lawrence Lessig, and Justice Harry Blackmun, among others. A commentary on Justice Scalia and the First Amendment, written by Halpert for this lecture, can be found here. (To download Halpert’s essay, open the link and save it to your desktop).